Auchtoon!

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
July 27, 2014

Not much to add to this one really. Tax structures, local revenue stabilization, business equipment values — it’s quite a lot to have to think about during the few weeks of nice weather we get here in Michigan. Except that it didn’t get out of the 60s yesterday. *sigh*

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
July 20, 2014

Last week there was a protest in the small town of Vassar in Michigan’s thumb about US immigration policy. That seems a curious place to have such a protest, but there were two main reasons. One, there was a possibility that some of the Central American children who have been entering the United States illegally in this recent wave of desperate refugees would be brought to Vassar temporarily to be processed. Two, fear.

And so in a very human and historically American reaction to fear, some folks grabbed flags and weapons and marched around with angry faces, blamed others for the situation, and offered emotionally satisfying but completely unworkable solutions for fixing everything. (The one that always gets me: build a wall with Mexico. The border distance of the Gaza Strip with Israel and Egypt is about 40 miles and obviously cannot be sealed. The US/Mexico border is almost 2000 miles. Uh-huh.)

It’s a tough problem with real human beings that will need thoughtful solutions and money to manage. It will also be helpful for folks in Vassar and the rest of the US to think about what is driving those kids north. As Bob Dylan said, “When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose.”

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
July 13, 2014

Can you tell I have one kid graduated from college, one in college, and one nearly there? Can you tell I’m a little bitter about a few things?

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
July 6, 2014

My little inside joke here is the guy wearing the American flag shirt with “Bud” on it — the parent company that makes Budweiser and Bud Light is actually Belgian.

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
June 29, 2014

In general, I’ve given Governor Snyder more slack than an editorial cartoonist probably should in his approach to staying on task with his agenda and trying to stay out of the quagmire of day-to-day politics. But he is the governor after all, and it’s not wrong to expect a certain level of accountability (or, heck, even feigned interest) in a topic that is important despite not being at the top of his list. Last week when presented with some evidence that certain charter schools have not been the best stewards of our public money, Snyder came back with what I paraphrased in panel #2. Which sounded to me like what he says in panel #3. It was a condescending dodge one would expect from a slick politician. I feel the slack tightening….